A Rainbow for Julie
by Erin T. Aardvark
Summary: Tommy, Shady, and Franky search Ponyland for a special rainbow to give to Julie
1. Sad News

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: Just a slight mention of a special guest appearance later in the story of Disney's Professor Ludwig Von Drake, who I think is one of the funniest Disney characters ever created._

It was another beautiful day in Ponyland. It was also a pretty lazy day as well. No one was doing much of anything. Magic Star was trotting around when she saw Firefly, Medley, Wind Whistler, Paradise, and Surprise fly down with Megan, Danny, Molly, Julie, Tommy, Anne, and Franky. Danny was on Surprise, Anne was on Wind Whistler, Franky was on Paradise, Molly and Tommy were on Firefly, and both Megan and Julie were on Medley. Magic Star thought this was a little odd, since Julie now could get on a pony's back (especially if it was Medley) without fearing she would fall off. Then Magic Star saw the look on Julie's face. It looked like she had been crying.

"Hey Jules," she said. "What's the matter?"

Julie sniffled, but she didn't say anything. Megan patted her cousin's shoulder and turned to Magic Star and some of the others who had gathered around.

"Julie just found out her best friend is moving to Minnesota," she said. "Not only is this her best friend, this is her next door neighbor, too."

"It's not fair!" Julie shouted. "Lisa is my best friend, and now she's going away."

"Oh Julie," Medley said, giving Julie a nuzzle. "You can always write to her, and you can call each other and visit each other."

"It won't be the same," Julie said, and she walked to the Estate.

The others just looked at each other and walked off. They figured Julie would be okay, in time. In any case, Tommy decided to do something about it. He stashed his glitter markers in the nursery the last time he visited. He knew what would cheer his big sister up. A rainbow! Rainbows always cheered her up. He not only used his glitter markers for the rainbow, but he used metallic markers and drew gold stars on the paper above the rainbow. Then he took her regular markers and drew Julie, Medley, Cupcake, and Baby Cuddles in the picture as well. Medley, Cupcake, and Baby Cuddles were Julie's favorite ponies. Then he wrote "To Julie From Tommy" in the bottom corner. He picked up his picture and smiled. But his smile quickly turned into a frown.

"It's a pretty rainbow," he said. "But it won't cheer up Julie. She's so sad, she needs a very special rainbow."

"What are you doing, Tommy?" Shady asked, coming into the room.

"Drawing a picture for Julie," Tommy said. "But the rainbow in the picture isn't special enough. I need to find a special rainbow just for her."

"Maybe we can ask Megan if we can use the Rainbow of Light. It can do some tricks for Julie."

"No, the Rainbow of Light isn't special enough. I want to find a really special rainbow. Come on. Let's go get Franky. He's sure to know where we can find a special rainbow!"

So that's what they did. Franky was a little confused at his request.

"I don't know if I can find a rainbow for you guys," he said. "I don't know where to look."

"Then we'll just have to go look for one," Tommy said. "Are you guys with me?"

"Well . . . ." Franky said hesitantly.

"I don't know," Shady said.

"Fine," Tommy said. "Then I'll just go find a rainbow for my sister all by myself."

With that, Tommy started off. Shady and Franky looked at each other and then followed. They couldn't let Tommy go all over Ponyland by himself. Megan would kill them.


	2. Professor Ludwig Von Drake

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: I dedicate this chapter to the late, great Paul Frees, the original voice of Professor Ludwig Von Drake._

The trio headed out of Dream Valley and started on their journey. They had to think of where to find a special rainbow, but it wasn't going to be easy. They weren't gone for very long when they came across the Bushwoolies. There were many of them, all in different colors. They popped out, nearly giving Franky a heart attack.

"Whoa!" he shouted.

"Sorry," the blue Bushwoolie said. He was the ringleader. "We didn't mean to scare you."

"No, didn't mean to scare you, no, uh-uh, nope, no," the other Bushwoolies said.

"What brings you out here?" the blue Bushwoolie asked.

"We're looking for a rainbow," Tommy said. "We're going to give it to my sister Julie to make her feel better because she's sad."

"Oooh, Bushwoolies don't like it when someone's sad."

"No, don't like it, don't like it, no," the other Bushwoolies chorused.

"But why not use the Rainbow of Light?" the blue Bushwoolie asked.

"It's not special enough," Tommy said. "I want to find a really special rainbow for Julie."

"Hey I just thought of an idea," Franky said. "Since these guys are all sorts of mixed up colors, maybe they can make a rainbow."

"A Bushwoolie Rainbow!" Tommy shouted, excitedly. "Good idea, Franky!"

"Yeah, good idea! Good idea!" the Bushwoolies shouted, and they rearranged themselves into a rainbow shape. They stood there in a line, as Tommy looked them over. Shady had to giggle.

"They look so cute like that!" she shouted.

"They're cute," Tommy said, tapping his chin thoughtfully. Then she sighed. "But it's just not special enough. Sorry."

"Come on," Franky said. "Let's keep going."

Tommy, Franky, and Shady left the Bushwoolies and continued walking along until they heard the strangest sounds coming from the distance. Thinking it was the Moochick doing something completely crazy, they ran towards the noise. What they found was a duck, wearing a coat, vest, tie, and spectacles. He had gray hair sticking out around his head, and he was playing the weirdest organ you can imagine.

"What the heck is that?" Franky asked.

"I don't know, but I don't like the looks of it," Shady said.

The duck looked up and saw he had an audience and he laughed.

"Looks like da professor has an audience!" he shouted. He had an accent, most likely German, but Tommy, Franky, and Shady weren't positive. The duck ran up to them, grabbed Franky's hand, and shook it vigorously.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome!" he shouted. "I am Professor Ludwig Von Drake, a genius of all trades! I know everything about everything!"

"Modest much?" Franky mumbled.

"So what brings you to da professor's neck of the woods?" Professor Von Drake asked.

"My name's Tommy, and these are Franky and Shady," Tommy said. "We're looking for a rainbow for my sister, Julie."

"A rainbow!" Professor Von Drake shouted, and he began laughing. "Ho, ho, how you gonna find a rainbow when it's not even raining? Oooh, you are a kooky little boy!"

"Watch who you're calling names, fella," Franky said.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it," Professor Von Drake said. Then he began banging keys on his organ. Color shot out of it.

"What's that?" Shady asked.

"I'm playin' da color scale!" Professor Von Drake shouted. "The whole spectrum, don't you know?"

"If color can come out of that thing," Tommy said. "Maybe it can make a rainbow."

"Well, stranger things have happened," Franky said.

"A rainbow outta dis?" Professor Von Drake shouted. "Dat's such a kooky idea, it just might work! Now, let's get a little color in here. You're gonna love dis!"

Professor Von Drake began to play his color organ. There were reds, yellows, greens, blues, purples, oranges, and pinks, practically drenching everything in sight with color, including Franky, Tommy, and Shady. Then, polka dots, checks, stripes, and plaids started coming out of the organ.

"Wait a second, what's going on with all the colors?!" Professor Von Drake shouted. "Blue red green green white white black oop, uh. . . . . . whatever happened to plain old . . . . lavender blue dilly dilly dilly . . . . . . silly."

"Yeah, _that's_ for sure!" Franky shouted.

"That was some rainbow!" Shady shouted.

"You wanna buy it?" Professor Von Drake asked. "I can sell it to ya, cheap."

"That was a great rainbow," Tommy said. "But I don't think it was special enough for Julie."

"It would have cheered her up, though," Franky said. "It would've made her laugh."

"I guess," Tommy said, shrugging. "But it's just not special."

"Eh, suit yourself," Professor Von Drake said, shrugging. Then he folded his organ and packed it in his suitcase, and walked off.

"And he said you were kooky," Franky said to Tommy. He shook his head, and followed Shady and Tommy down a path.


	3. Flutter Valley and Bumbleland

The trio walked along for awhile until they reached Flutter Valley. The Flutter Ponies were all flying about, smelling the flowers, and just fluttering. Rosedust and Morning Glory saw them, and flew down to them.

"Hi!" Morning Glory shouted. "What are you all doing here?"

"Chasing rainbows," Franky said with a shrug.

"Maybe you can help us," Tommy said. "See, we're trying to find a rainbow to give to Julie to cheer her up, since her friend's moving away."

"Oh, that's awful," Morning Glory said. "She must be so sad!"

"She is," Tommy said. "I don't want her to be sad."

"Do you know where we can find a rainbow?" Shady asked.

"Well, we'll certainly be glad to help you," Rosedust said.

"There should be one around here somewhere," Morning Glory said.

Rosedust and Morning Glory led Tommy, Franky, and Shady further into Flutter Valley. The other Flutter Ponies were carrying watering cans and sprinkling the flowers.

"What are you guys doing?" Franky asked.

"Watering the garden," Honeysuckle said. "Morning Glory's taken up gardening."

"And all the Flutter Ponies help me grow my flowers," Morning Glory said. "I give them a little water, a little sunshine, and a lot of love."

Franky, Tommy, and Shady looked at Morning Glory's flowers, and saw that she had flowers in every color under the sun. Including green, which wasn't very common for a flower.

"How did you get a green flower?" Franky asked.

"What's the matter, haven't you ever heard of mint tulips?" Honeysuckle asked.

Franky groaned and rolled his eyes. Shady broke into a smile then.

"A flower rainbow!" she shouted, excitedly. "We can give Julie a flower rainbow! She loves flowers!"

"That's a great idea, Shady!" Tommy shouted. "Think you guys can spare some flowers?"

"Sure!" Morning Glory shouted, and she and the other Flutter Ponies gathered all the colors they would need to make a flower rainbow.

It was a piece of work. They used red roses, orange marigolds, yellow daffodils, green tulips (or as Honeysuckle called them, mint tulips), blue morning glories, and purple violets. It was very pretty, but somehow, Tommy didn't think it was special enough. He looked at it, and shook his head.

"I'm sorry," he said. "It's really pretty, but it's just not special enough. I want to give Julie a really special rainbow."

"Well, we tried," Forget-Me-Not said.

"We're sorry, Tommy," Peach Blossom said.

"Don't worry," Morning Glory said. "I'll go on the hunt for a rainbow with you. Let's try Bumbleland!"

"Okay," Tommy said, and they were off. The other Flutter Ponies were seeing them off.

"Good luck!" Honeysuckle shouted.

Morning Glory led the way to Bumbleland. All the bees were buzzing around. Franky looked a little nervous. A lot of the bees didn't look friendly, that was for sure! Shady didn't like the looks of things, either. A bee with a Mohawk and an eye patch flew over to them.

"Hey Morning Glory!" he shouted.

"Hi, Sting!" Morning Glory said. "Tommy, Shady, and Franky, this is my best bee friend, Sting. Sting, these are Tommy, Shady, and Franky. They came all the way from Paradise Estate looking for a rainbow."

"A rainbow?" Sting asked, a little confused. "What do you want a rainbow for? Don't you have one?"

"We do," Tommy said. "But the Rainbow of Light isn't special enough."

"I heard it was pretty special."

"I know, but I'm looking for a really special rainbow for my sister, Julie. She's sad, and I just know a special rainbow will cheer her up!"

"Well, let's see what we can do."

Sting led the group to the back room, where a lot of the bees were making honey. Some of the vats were filled with pink, green, and blue honey.

"What in the world?" Franky asked.

"Food coloring," Sting said. "Gotta love it."

"A honey rainbow?" Morning Glory asked.

"Sure!" Sting shouted. "It's different. And it tastes good!"

"Let's see what it's gonna look like," Tommy said.

Sting took some honey out of the various vats and arranged them by color in a case divided by Plexiglas dividers.

"And there you have it," he said, handing the box to Tommy.

The honey rainbow was in pastel colors. It was transparent, and shone when Tommy held the box up to the sun. He giggled, and then sighed.

"This is great," he said. "But it's not what I'm looking for."

"Well, what are you looking for?" Sting asked, taking the box back.

"I don't know," Tommy said. "I guess I'll know it when I see it."

"Well, don't worry, Tommy. I'll help you look for a rainbow."

"Great!" Morning Glory shouted.

"Yeah, we could use all the help we can get," Shady replied.


	4. Troll Bridge

The quintet walked off, in search of another rainbow. They crossed the jewel desert until they came to the Royal Paradise. All the Princess Ponies were doing something or another with their magic wands, when Princess Tiffany flew over to the group.

"Welcome! Welcome!" she shouted. "What brings all of you to the Royal Paradise?"

"We're looking for a rainbow," Morning Glory said. "Do you know where we can find one?"

"It has to be a special rainbow," Tommy said. "It's for my sister, Julie. She's really sad about her friend moving away, so I thought a special rainbow would cheer her up."

"Hmm," Princess Starburst said.

"That sounds like a pretty big job," Princess Royal Blue said.

"Maybe we can make a rainbow with our magic wands," Princess Sparkle suggested.

All the Princess Ponies thought that was a good idea, and they got their wands together, and shot a rainbow out of them. It was the boldest, brightest rainbow anyone could imagine.

"Oh how pretty!" Morning Glory shouted.

"How's that for a special rainbow?" Franky asked.

"It's great," Tommy said, and then sighed. "But . . . . ."

"Not special enough, huh?" Sting asked. Tommy shook his head.

"Well, we tried," Princess Primrose said. "I hope you find your rainbow."

The others nodded, and went off again. They walked through the jeweled desert, feeling a little dejected. At the rate they were going, it didn't look like they would ever find a special rainbow.

"This is like looking for a needle in a haystack," Shady said. "We'll never find a special rainbow."

"Never say never," Franky replied. "We'll find one."

"But how?" Shady asked. "We've already asked all the ponies we know!"

"Then maybe we should ask some people the ponies have dealt with," Franky suggested.

"That's a good idea," Tommy said.

"Come on, everyone!" Morning Glory shouted. "Let's go!"

The group passed the jeweled desert until they came to a bridge.

"What's this?" Sting asked.

"Looks like a toll bridge," Franky said.

The bridge happened to be up, and there was a troll sitting there, waiting for people to cross the bridge. This wasn't just a troll, though. It was Niblick the troll. Megan and some of the ponies had tangled with him before when his chest of magic coins washed up into Ponyland, and the little ponies had accidentally made wishes on them. One of them was from Baby Lickety Split who had caused it to stop raining. Megan and the little ponies had to reverse the effects of the coins, which only Niblick could do. Megan had used a coin to give him a friend, who was a neat freak. Niblick looked past his bridge and saw the group standing there.

"Well, whattaya little ponies want this time?!" he shouted.

"I thought he was going to be less grumpy when Megan gave him a friend," Shady said.

"We just want to cross the bridge," Franky said.

"We're looking for a rainbow," Tommy explained.

"A rainbow?" Niblick asked. "Heh. Good luck! It's tough finding rainbows around here."

"We'll find one," Tommy said.

"Yeah, just let us cross the bridge," Franky replied.

"Sure," Niblick said. "But you gotta pay the toll!"

"Pay the toll?" Shady asked.

"What's the matter, ain'tcha ever seen a troll bridge before?" Niblick asked.

"Oh brother," Franky groaned. He heard about Niblick from the other ponies, and knew he didn't take money. He took off his watch.

"All I've got on me is my watch," he said. "I'll give it to you when we come over."

"Sounds fair," Niblick said. "Not that I care about bein' fair!"

Franky rolled his eyes as Niblick lowered the bridge. Franky, Tommy, and Shady crossed the bridge as Morning Glory and Sting flew over it. Once they made it across, Franky handed over his watch. As they were about to leave, Niblick's friend, Fauntleroy, came out of the house, throwing things outside.

"You should clean this place more often!" he shouted. "Look at all this junk!"

"Hey, watch what you're calling junk!" Niblick shouted, picking up a chest. "It ain't everybody who owns a collection of rainbow crystals!"

"Rainbow crystals?" Tommy repeated.

"Can we see them?" Morning Glory asked. "Please?"

Niblick sort of groaned, and opened the chest. Inside were rainbow colored crystals that practically glimmered in the sun.

"Ooohhh," Shady breathed.

"Wow!" Sting shouted.

"What a rainbow!" Morning Glory shouted. "Tommy, these are perfect!"

Tommy gave them a look over. Franky looked at them as well, wondering what he could give up for these crystals. Finally, Tommy shook his head.

"They're really great," he said. "But not special enough."

"What's the matter, my rainbow crystals ain't good enough for ya?!" Niblick shouted. "Get outta here!"

"Okay, we're going, we're going!" Franky shouted, and the group walked off. "Sheesh! Remind me never to cross his bridge again!"


	5. Northern Lights

The group continued walking along. They went for a long way, and were still unable to find a special rainbow. At least, one that Tommy liked. All the rainbows they had found so far were very pretty, but they just weren't special enough to give to Julie.

"I'm about ready to give up," Franky sighed.

"We can't give up now," Morning Glory said.

"Yeah, it ain't over 'till the fat lady stings!" Sting shouted. "We'll find a rainbow!"

"But so far, it doesn't look like we are," Shady said with a sigh.

Tommy climbed onto Shady's back, and sighed. It was going to take a miracle for her to find a special rainbow. Franky looked at him and sighed.

"You two fly on ahead," he said to Morning Glory and Sting. "I'm gonna talk to the troops."

"Okay," Morning Glory said, and she and Sting flew into the air to scout what was up ahead. Franky waited until they were out of sight.

"Okay, you two," he said. "Shades, I know you're the pessimist, but Tommy, you aren't. We can't give up on this. If you want to find a rainbow for Julie, we've got to keep at it!"

"But we've been all over Ponyland," Shady said.

"And we haven't found a rainbow special enough yet," Tommy said.

"Listen," Franky said smiling. "I'm gonna tell you guys something. We've got to look for a star."

"But we're looking for rainbows!" Tommy whined.

"What's the matter?" Franky asked. "Haven't you ever seen _Pinocchio_? Besides, where do you guys think that phrase lucky star came from?"

"But, there aren't any stars out," Shady said, looking into the sky. "It's still daylight!"

"Oh I know that," Franky said. "But if you look careful enough . . . . ."

Franky didn't go on. He, Tommy, and Shady looked into the sky, and saw something sparkling there. And it looked exactly like a star.

"Look!" Tommy shouted. "I think it's a star!"

"There you go!" Franky shouted with a smile. "What did I tell you?"

Shady, Tommy, and Franky continued on their way, following this star. They caught up with Morning Glory and Sting, and found themselves in an area of Ponyland that was a little on the chilly side, complete with snow, ice, and icebergs.

"I think we took a wrong turn at Albuquerque," Franky said, looking around.

The group looked around and saw a little yellow duck wearing a little red hat swimming in a small pond. A little penguin wearing a crown on his head watched him. The two of them were giggling.

"Hey!" Tommy called. The penguin and the duck looked up.

"Look, Sonny!" the penguin shouted. "It's some of the Little Ponies!"

"The ones who helped your dad and stopped him from freezing everything, Edgar?" Sonny asked.

Edgar nodded, and he and Sonny walked over to the little ponies and their friends.

"What are you doing here?" Edgar asked.

"We're looking for a rainbow for my sister," Tommy explained. "Her best friend is going away and she's really sad."

"I know how that feels," Edgar said. "I can get you a really pretty rainbow! Follow me!"

Franky, Tommy, Sting, Shady, and Morning Glory followed Edgar and Sonny to the top of the hill, where Edgar was arranging a bunch of clear and blue chunks of ice.

"Those aren't rainbow colored," Shady said. "Just clear and blue."

"Wait until the sun hits them," Sonny said. "I've seen Edgar do this before, and it's beautiful!"

The group looked at each other, and waited. Edgar and Sonny stepped out of the way, and the sun hit the ice cubes.

"Look over there!" Edgar shouted.

Everyone turned around, and saw a rainbow on an ice wall that looked a lot like the Northern Lights formation.

"Oh!" Morning Glory shouted.

"Oh how gorgeous!" Shady breathed.

"Outta site!" Franky shouted.

"You said it," Sting said.

"Wow," Tommy said. "That's really great, but I don't think it's what I'm looking for. I want to give Julie the most special rainbow in the entire world."

"Well, good luck," Edgar said. "I hope you find a special rainbow."

The group left the chilly north, and began walking down south where it was warmer. They continued on their way, but weren't making much progress. Franky was out of pep talks. Morning Glory and Sting led the way, but they weren't having much luck finding anything.

"We're getting nowhere fast," Shady said. "Maybe we should be heading back. What if it gets dark and we get lost in the woods? And what if we can't find our way back to Paradise Estate? What if . . . ."

"Shady, chill out," Franky said. "It's a long way away from being dark, and we're not gonna let lost!"

Shady didn't say anything else after that. She really wasn't too fond of being yelled at. In any case, the group continued walking, feeling a little downtrodden with every step, until Sting saw something in the sky.

"Check that out!" he shouted. Everyone looked up and saw streaks of red, green, and blue fly by. It looked like a ribbon of sorts. Better yet, it looked like sort of a rainbow.

"Let's follow it!" Tommy shouted.

The group ran off after the ribbon to see where it was going. They lost sight of the streaks in a forest and began pushing through branches and brush, trying to find their way out.

"We lost it," Franky said, looking into the sky. "I really hate to say it, but we lost it."

"That's not the only thing we lost," Shady said. "We lost ourselves!"

"We'll get out of here," Morning Glory said. "Don't worry about that, Shady!"

"Right," Franky said. "It's always darkest before the dawn. And you know it isn't even dark yet! When life deals you lemon, make applesauce."

Everyone looked at Franky as if he were nuts.

"I think you mean lemonade," Tommy said.

"Well," Franky said, shrugging.

Suddenly, the group began to hear the whistling of birds. It seemed to be coming from one direction.

"Listen!" Sting shouted.

"Come on!" Morning Glory shouted. "Let's follow it! Maybe it will lead us out of here!"

Shady was a little hesitant, but followed the others anyway. As they heard the whistling, they also heard singing, coming in the same direction. Franky was doing most of the pushing through brush and things until he saw an entire flock of little birds with long flowing tails and plumes on their heads fly towards a young woman with blond hair. A little bird landed on her finger, and she stroked it's stomach with her other finger, and started singing.

"Hey look who it is!" Shady shouted. "It's Princess Phyllis!"

Princess Phyllis was a friend of the ponies. She had been under a curse when she met them, Megan, and the little ponies helped her break it. She was sitting by a stone temple, and all the birds surrounded her. They flew off suddenly.

"Where are you going?" Phyllis asked. "It's all right. Come back!"

"Sorry about that," Franky said, as he and the others came over. "We didn't mean to scare off your friends."

"Oh they'll come back when they feel like it," Phyllis said. "It helps to have a handful of bird seed. What are you doing all the way out here?"

"Chasing rainbows," Franky said. "I sound like a broken record."

"We're looking for a rainbow for Julie," Tommy said. "Do you know where we can find one?"

"Well, not offhand," Phyllis said. "But I can make you one."

"Oh that would be wonderful!" Morning Glory shouted.

Phyllis smiled, and whistled for her little bird friends to come to her. Six of them arrived, and landed along her arms, three on her left arm, and three on her right arm. They were pale red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Their head plumes and tails were darker than their bodies.

"Okay, my little friends," Phyllis said to the birds. "Fly!"

The birds chirped and flew into the air, letting their long tail feathers fly. They created a floating rainbow, like a ribbon flying in the breeze. Everyone was breathless.

"Oh that's so pretty!" Morning Glory shouted.

"Yeah," Tommy said. And then she heaved a sigh. "I'm sorry, Phyllis, but it's not special. Well, not special enough. Julie's best friend is moving away, and she's really sad. I want to give her a really special rainbow to make her happy, but . . . . ."

"I understand," Phyllis said, with a warm smile. "Finding a special rainbow for someone takes time. You'll know it when you see it. Good luck."

"Thanks," Tommy said, and the group continued on their way.


	6. Tommy's Special Rainbow

Everyone was starting to feel a little down now. They just couldn't find a rainbow that would please Tommy. Finally, Tommy looked into the sky, and saw a rainbow fly by. He stopped in his tracks.

"That's it!" he shouted. "That's the rainbow!"

"Looks like any ordinary rainbow I've ever seen," Sting said. "These days, you see one rainbow, you've seen 'em all."

Tommy didn't acknowledge Sting. He just ran after the glittering rainbow in the sky. The others followed him. The rainbow was moving much too fast for them.

"It's no use," Shady said. "We'll never catch it! It's too fast!"

"I could get it," Franky said. "But it's too high."

"I'm a pretty fast flyer," Morning Glory said. "Together, we can do it, Franky!"

"But I'm to big to ride on you, Morning Glory," Franky said.

"Don't worry about that. I know exactly what to do! I hope you don't get sick on thrill rides, Franky!"

"Well . . . ."

Before Franky could say another word, Morning Glory swooped down, and scooped Franky up into the air. She was holding underneath his arms with her legs. She found it easy to carry him.

"What are you doing?!" Franky shouted. "Put me down!"

"We've got to get that rainbow!" Morning Glory shouted.

"I can't get it like this!"

"Oh come on. You never know what you can do if you don't try!"

"Oh all right. Contact!"

Morning Glory fluttered as fast as she could until she and Franky got close enough to the rainbow. Franky reached out and tried to grab it, but it flew away.

"Whoa!" Franky shouted. "What's it doing?"

"After it!" Morning Glory shouted, and she flew off.

Sting, Shady, and Tommy followed them until they all managed to catch up with the rainbow.

"There it is!" Tommy shouted, as Morning Glory put Franky down.

"How are we gonna get it?" Sting asked. "Every time we get close, it moves!"

"Let's just get in there and grab it!" Franky shouted, and he and the others charged at the rainbow, but it flew away once more.

"We can still go after it!" Tommy shouted. "Come on, let's go!"

"Wait!" Shady shouted. "I can't move! I'm stuck!"

"Stuck?" Franky asked.

"Oh no!" Morning Glory shouted. "Quicksand!"

"We've got to get her out of there!" Sting shouted.

"But we'll lose the rainbow!" Tommy shouted.

Tommy was up a tree. The rainbow was already moving out of range to catch, but he also knew the others needed him to help get Shady out of the quicksand. Finally, he knew the choice he had to make.

"We need a good strong rope," he said.

"Would a vine do?" Morning Glory asked, grabbing a vine between her teeth.

"That's perfect!" Franky shouted. He tied a loop in the vine and twirled it over his head.

"All right, cowboy," Sting said.

"Yeee-haaaa!" Franky shouted, and he lassoed Shady. "Okay, Shades! You're gonna have to pull yourself out as we're pulling you out!"

"It's the only way you'll get out of there," Tommy said.

"All right," Shady said. "I'll try."

"Okay, everybody," Franky said as Morning Glory, Sting, and Tommy took the vine. "On the count of three, pull! One, two three!"

"HEAVE!" everyone shouted and gave the vine a good yank.

Shady struggled, but managed to move her legs slowly. Everyone else continued to pull as hard as possible. Finally, Shady was free of the quicksand, but the rainbow was nowhere in sight.

"There goes Julie's rainbow," Shady said.

"Maybe we can still catch it!" Sting shouted.

"It's too late, Sting," Tommy said. "It's gone. We'll never find it now."

"I'm sorry," Shady said. "If I hadn't gotten stuck in that quicksand . . . ."

"Don't worry about it, Shady," Franky said. "So we lost that rainbow big deal. They'll be another one."

Tommy thought about that. He knew Franky was right. But he still heaved a sigh. Franky looked up at the sky, frowned, and sighed himself.

"We have to be heading back to the Estate," he said. "It's starting to get dark. Megan and the others might be worried about us."

The others had to agree on that, and they started back for Paradise Estate. They reached it just as the sun was sinking into the horizon. Megan and Twilight were waiting for them outside.

"Where have you guys been all day?" Megan asked.

"Chasing rainbows," Franky said, for what felt like the millionth time that day.

"We were looking for a special rainbow," Tommy said. "But we weren't able to find one."

"We looked all over Ponyland," Shady said.

"Well, what about this rainbow?" Megan asked, holding out Tommy's drawing. "I saw it on the table. Come on, Tommy, you used your glitter markers on it. It's a great rainbow!"

"It's a pretty rainbow," Tommy said. "But it isn't special. Julie was so sad about Lisa moving away, I wanted to give her a really special rainbow."

"Tommy, you are a great brother," Megan said, giving her cousin a hug. "You went all over Ponyland to find a special rainbow for your sister?"

"Yeah," Tommy said. "But the one we found went away, and we can't find another special rainbow."

"You'd think it wouldn't be so hard finding a special rainbow here in Ponyland," Franky said.

"It all depends on what you're looking for," Twilight said. "If you look hard enough, you'll find the rainbow you're looking for almost anywhere."

With that, Twilight lit up her horn. Suddenly, the rainbow jumped off the page and swirled around. Tommy looked at it, and gasped. It was the same rainbow he had seen earlier, just before Shady got stuck in the quicksand. Julie walked outside and saw it.

"Ooohhhh," she breathed. "It's so beautiful!"

The rainbow twirled around, and from out of nowhere, a locket appeared, but it wasn't like the Rainbow of Light. It was a gold heart on a gold chain. The rainbow flew into the locket and it closed. Then it floated down to Julie.

"There you go, Julie," Twilight said. "Tommy went on a search all over Ponyland just to give you that."

"My own rainbow?" Julie asked.

"Uh huh," Tommy said. "I wanted to cheer you up with a special rainbow."

Julie smiled and looked at her new locket. Her name was even engraved her name onto it. She smiled, and gave her brother a big hug, and a kiss.

"Eeeuuwww!" Tommy shouted, wiping his face off. "You don't hafta get all mushy!"

Anne, Molly, and Danny came out of the Estate with Firefly, Medley, Surprise, and Lofty.

"Come on, you guys," Megan said. "It's time to go home."

Julie and Tommy climbed on Medley while Franky got on Lofty, and they were off over the rainbow to go back to their own home.

"So you went all over Ponyland, huh?" Anne asked.

"Yeah," Franky said. "We saw a lot of great rainbows. Come on, I'll tell you about them."

All the way back home, Franky and Tommy talked non-stop about the adventure Shady, Morning Glory, and Sting had that day.

The End


End file.
